Climate Silence in Sociology? How Elite American Sociology, Environmental Sociology, and Science and Technology Studies Treat Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change is among the most pressing problems of our time, yet it remains a marginal topic in sociology. This study draws on citation network analysis, qualitative coding, and computational text analysis of articles published between 2015 and 2020 in select journals in U.S. elite sociology, environmental sociology, and science and technology studies (STS) to better understand differences and similarities in how these (sub)fields approach—or ignore—climate change. We map the structural relations of the research on climate change in these (sub)fields and analyze patterns in the substantive and theoretical engagement with the topic. Building on our analysis, we conclude by suggesting potential paths for stimulating further climate change research at the intersection of environmental sociology and STS and to propose tentative strategies for researchers to bring climate change into the sociological mainstream.